What is this world coming to? A poor and terrified 17 year old boy, showed up at a gym with a chain locked to his ankle. He
reportedly was tortured and held captive against his will. The boy turned up half-naked Monday at the In-Shape Sports Club in Tracy, near the couple’s home. It’s not clear how he ended up in Tracy; authorities said he ran away last year from a foster home in Sacramento, about 70 miles to the north.
Chuck Ellis, a manager of the In-Shape Sports Club, said the boy came into the fitness center Monday afternoon wearing only boxer briefs, covered with what appeared to be soot. Ellis says the teen was scared someone was going to come after him and asked to be hidden.
“He said `Don’t let them get me, don’t let them get me,’” Ellis said. “He was totally terrified.”
Ellis said the teenager told him he was picked up after running away from the foster home to look for his family and that he had been held for almost a year. Ellis said he looked like he was only 10 to 12 years old.
A husband and wife have been charged with torture and several other counts. Kelly Layne Lau, 30, and Michael Schumacher, 34, were arrested late Monday, said Matt Robinson, a spokesman for police in Tracy.
They had been taken into custody for questioning earlier in the day at their home in Tracy, where the emaciated boy was allegedly held against his will. A search of the home turned up evidence implicating the couple, Robinson said. Tracy is about 60 miles east of San Francisco.
They were charged with torture, kidnapping and child abuse, and were set to appear in court Thursday, officials said. Bail was set at $1.2 million for Michael Schumacher but his wife’s bail had not been set, authorities said.
According to neighbors, the couple seemed to lead lives that revolved around their kids. On her MySpace Web page, Lau describes herself as a stay-at-home mom, Girl Scout troop leader and says her husband “is my best friend and a wonderful father.” She posted many photos of her family, friends and pets.
We need a serious overhaul in our foster care system. Unfit foster parents are bringing in kids for money and not to actually help them. This is so sad. We wish the teen boy the best and we hope he finds his family.
(the photo is the mug shot of Kelly Schumacher)
Screw the person who wrote the last line in this article. There may be foster parents in it for the money (NOT! because there is no money to be made in foster care); but it is actually the system that chews up and spits out the people trying to do a good thing. It’s a government program and they can’t have any liability, so they lie to foster parents to get kids placed and then everything is the parent’s fault.
The whole system is run off liability and what county/organization the funding gets sent to. It’s not at all about the well being of the children.